haeven

It's that time again, folks! With everyone gearing up massively early for the holidays (didn't we used to start that in October before???), shops are getting packed to the brim with winning goodies!












Artfire's artisan of the day should be Artfire itself for the new Shop Importer Tool, but I digress.


I know it's easy to stop off at the department store for a cheapie hat for the fall & winter, but why do that when you can have something beautiful, handmade that will last for season after season. With 2 kids, I know the allure of stopping at WallyWorld for a $2.00 hat, but that hat usually falls apart before the winter is out. This Navy Blue with Yellow Stripe Hand Knit Hat - Medium by Rainwolf is a perfect edition to your cold-weather wardrobe.




Later, taters!

No, that's not me, that's a beauty painted by the great pin-up artists Elvgren... though it would be nice.

Now, here's a product launch I've been looking forward to! I finally released by Floor and Glass Cleaner to the wide world. I tested this on various and sundry glass and floor surfaces and am satisfied that you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

Now, this isn't for wood floors... that product will come later, but it will tidy up those bathroom and kitchen floors right nice, and what it does for glass... well if it can remove cocoa butter lotion from a bathroom mirror (I have a 4 year old, don't ask), well you just have to have it.


And check these cuties out. I've decided to give everyone a truly unique way to carry around their laundry washing powder... I've loaded up 32 loads of my powder into this great reusable lined drawstring, and you're off to the laundromat in style.

The bag is lined with repurposed plastic (finally found a good use for those grocery bags my un-enlightened husband and brother-in-law keeps bringing home), so they are water resistant. They're also washable -- though not dryer safe -- so you can change up scents easily.

Speaking of scents, I've expanded my line of washing powder scents. Now you can get:

lavender/chamomile
lavender
chamomile
black tea
sandalwood
asian citrus
sunflower
dark ginger
and the usual regular scent.

So, yes, very happy and very accomplished today. Now I have to decide whether I'm really going to be able to put together 300 samples for an event. It's a hard decision, because it's connected to a relatively prestigious company, but I don't want to half-a$$ it, you know.

I'll be back on Monday with my Artisans of the Day. I really miss sharing them with you; and now that I'm feeling more sociable, I should get back to sharing.

Got the cotton muslin I'd ordered yesterday, so I'm ready for the new product design. I have to say that NauvooQuiltCompany is a great seller. I can't wait to need more muslin so I can go back and buy more.

Got an email today asking about the laundry powder in the little milk cartons. I'm interested in seeing if she wants to purchase some -- thank God I didn't throw them out. If any of your remember, I used to package the laundry powders in tiny little milk cartons. With that request, I'm thinking of offering it as a gift selection. However, the new packaging I'm developing will be a big hit, I'm hoping.

Because these little babies are all done!

This was a custom order for an Etsy seller who needed sachets as gifts. There are 26 finished sachets here, completed in 2 1/2 days.

For the deets: They are made from fabric chosen by the customer, sized approx. 4" x 4". They are made with cotton wool and scented flaxseed (these are made with lavender scent). The cotton wool gives it the "fluff", the flaxseed is the power pack of scent.

They are washable, but they should be washed in the delicate cycle and not dried in the dryer!
I'm going to be offering similar sachets -- called Stress Sachets -- very soon in my shop. You'll be able to pop it in your pocket, your purse, where ever you want to have a release from stress.

If you want some sachets like these custom made -- because I found I absolutely LOVED making them -- email me at ha.ven@live.com or convo me at my Etsy or Artfire Shops.

I've finished two BIG batches of my concentrated cleaning products. It was fun watching the sodium carbonate react with the citric acid.

The item to the left is my new best friend. Yes, it is a smoothie maker. I bought a used one at a yard sale, cleaned and sterlized it and now I have the perfect mixer for my stuff. It also pulverizes the soap for the laundry detergent thanks to the ice crusher. This thing is the perfect emulsifier.

In making the AP cleaner, it was fun watching the sodium carbonate react with the citric acid in the water. I remember my old biology class days. That's going to be some serious grease cutting power for the kitchen.

Anyhoo, I will be packaging my new product line over the weekend, hopefully in time for the September 1 launch. I'll also announce the winner of my giveaway as well, and offer up my feature article. Wow, I'm a busy bee!

Catch you all later!

Have a sneak peak at the new containers for the cleaning line, launching on or around September 1.

I'll be formulating the formulas this weekend; adding a lingerie liquid and the dryer sheet refresher spray as well!

I hope you enjoy the new products!

So, on or about Sept. 1, I'll be launching the household cleaning line, and I'm really excited! I've purchased all the little containers I'll need for the initial launch (thanks, hubby!) and this week is going into making the actual products. These products have already been tested (in my own crazy house, of course) and they have wonderful results!


I plan on having the following in the line:

• Glass/Floor Cleaner
• Kitchen/Bathroom Cleaner
• Dishwashing Powder (for machine and hand) - this is a tricky one!
  
• Carpet Freshener
  
• Pot Scrubbies and Dishclothes
• Re-usable "paper" towels

Since I've been totally obsessed with my new knitting looms, I've created the first set of scrubbies/dishcloths and am working on the second! I actually have two of the looms going at once (one for the set and one for my son's winter scarf) and I'm crocheting scrubbies like a mad woman.

Not everything will be available on Sept 1, but look forward to some great products and a kickin' giveaway! Speaking of giveaways... don't forget that the one I have down here will end on August 31. Then it's off to getting ready to offer samples in the Little Black Box! Whee!

Later all!

I went ahead and did it: I've launched my line of dryer sheets with this sample size offering. If you read my previous post, you'll see all about my trial.

I've posted a picture of a sheet before and after use in the listing (which I'm offering on Etsy and Artfire). I have to say I'm proud of this little guy. The idea of a sheet that replaces those chemical sheets in the store, and still takes care of both issues in drying... I've been picking with this for some time.

I hope you'll give them a try.

Now, it's time to work on a moist dryer sheet. Because these



have to go.

I've finally finished the creation of my cool, new dryer sheets, and as I had a few loads of laundry to do, decided to test one out today.

I took an "oopsie" sheet (one where the stitches looked like my 4 year old did them) and tossed it in with the light colored clothes. I use a public laundry room in my apartment, and I set the dryer on high (whites). I did the dark colored clothes without a sheet and, of course, I used my regular scent laundry detergent to wash.

The dryer is automatically set for 54 minutes, so I left my clothes downstairs and crossed my fingers, and came upstairs to work on some more. Wow... let's just say that the stitches on most of them were... wooow... so expect some "oopsies" on sale as samples.

So, when the clothes came out, the first thing I did was smell them. Not much scent, but the clothes with the dryer sheet certainly smelled... fresher than the clothes without the dryer sheet. And that's saying a lot, because my regular scent laundry detergents leaves a great, neutral scent behind. Some of the clothes picked up the scent, slightly, some did not. So I'm thinking that you'll need to toss two into a regular load.

The clothes with the dryer sheet were also softer than the clothes without -- the reason for that will be shared when I finally finish testing and finally put them up for sale. Static was non-existent.

Results? I'm going to expand the pack to a four-pack (instead of a 3-pack). I'm already shipping them in a re-usable Hefty(tm) Zip-Lock freezer bag (they're thicker), with a little square of extra scent power tucked inside. This should help intensify the scent; as well, I'm going to offer little bottles of scent spray (which, unlike my linen spray, will NOT contain alcohol), with each pack.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the turn out. I'll be listing samples soon that you can purchase for $2.00 for each one. They won't have the spray, but they will have the scent power square and a coupon for $1.00 off a full pack.

Of course, I'll always look for feedback from my customers; they are the final judges of all my products.

I hope when these sheets join the product line, you will like them as much as all of my products!

I've finally managed to scrape away some time to make and post 16-load powdered laundry detergent! And can I say, to those who think food processors are the way to go for grating/mixing the soap bars... my blender is now my best friend. I grated 8 four-ounce blocks of soap in under 10 minutes! The Ice Chop feature is a soaper's best friend. As long as you don't leave it on too long (there is a liquefy setting, after all), you're good to go. And it's cheaper to buy than a big ole food processor.

So finally, I can move on to some other things -- namely my new dryer sheet design. I can't say much about it now, other than it's going to be unlike any dryer sheet I've seen around.

The laundry detergent is a "pick your own scent" listing; I prefer to mix the larger batches upon order so that the scent is more powerful and longer lasting. I did get feed back that the scent on the samplers wasn't lasting long, but that's probably because I'm paranoid about making my products too smelly. You can take your pick of "flavors" as it were: Regular, Lavender/Chamomile, Sandalwood, and Asian Citrus. The sandalwood is a strong, heady fragrance, great for the guys who like "manly" scented laundry detergent. It's in a spiffy little Ball/Mason(tm) jar, too, which is perfect for college dorms or house-sharing.

Now, about the ingredients... I use a soap base that has NO animal products in it; all vegans can get up and do the happy dance. And the fragrances do not contain alcohol of any kind. So, I could call this a halal product, but I'm not sure if I need special certifications to do that. Any Muslims are free to chime in. I'm trying to create products that all can use safely, especially those of us in the US, where certain restrictions are not always looked at.

How does it work? Simple. Fill your washer with your clothes, then start it. As soon as it's almost full of water, pour one tablespoon (2 for crazy big loads) into the water, not on the clothes. Then let it do its work. Amazing how 1 tablespoon can clean a full load of laundry and leave it good smelling too, but it works. This is great for High Efficiency washer, where less is definitely more. I've used it in all temps of water. For first time users, be aware that it does not suds much -- it's not suds that cleans your clothes, its the ingredients. You'll notice the difference when you pull out your clothes to put them in the dryer. If you choose regular scent, you'll notice that you just smell clean clothes; no lasting funk, no crazy, flowery smells, nothing but clean.

Now, since all children and gone from the house (the elder on teen stuff, the younger with papi for dinner), I'm going to go an enjoy my television for the first time in eons. Wish me luck!